I know it is not conventional wisdom, and in fact I know that it is not the least expensive way to obtain transportation. But I like to buy a new car, drive it until it is not practical to continue driving (or repairing) it, and then buy another one.
I know I've had good luck, but I also think this is a counter-argument to "never buy a new car" - the argument I've heard is that it loses some large percentage of its value as soon as you drive it off the lot. But that's only relevant if you're interested in the car's sale value at some point close to the time of purchase. And also that its value might not equal its loan payoff, only relevant if you take out a loan to buy the car. I know I'm extremely fortunate that I have not had to do this for the 4 cars I've bought this way.
My current car has worked out well this way. It's a 2003 Camry SE, manual transmission, purchased new right after the 2004 models came out. It had been sitting on the lot for a while, sometimes dealers have trouble moving manual transmission cars. It now has over 200k miles on it. There was a headlight I had to replace, and of course "consumables" (brakes, tires, I think a battery). I had some interior water damage because the drainage for the #$!@#$ moon roof clogged up and gave me no warning. The electric controls on the windows have gotten flaky, I will need to have those repaired. It's now due for a 30k maintenance; I should mention that I've been uncharacteristically good about oil changes and such for the life of the car.
And that's been about it. In other words, I haven't had to put much into repairs in 15 years. Partly good luck, partly judgement in purchasing a Toyota in the first place. But it's also part of the advantage of buying a new car -- one is less likely to get one that has hidden problems that you end up having to fix.
So my check engine light came on yesterday, and the code indicates a bad catalytic converter. It will be $1100 to replace. My well-trusted mechanic of 28 years talks of it as a death sentence for the car ("let's reset the code and see if it comes back on, and meanwhile you can hold off doing the 30k maintenance in case it does"). I looked up Bluebook values, the trade-in is about $900 and the middle of the range for private sale about $2600.
The thing is, I don't want to sell the car. The extent to which I like the car is a running joke in my wife's family. There's no great reason for this -- I mean, it's not a sporty wonder that gets any "oooohs" from the crowd, the 4-cylinder 5-speed isn't going to win any races, it's not quite old enough to be quaint. It's just a Camry.
But I like driving it. if I need to merge into traffic, there's plenty of acceleration. It always feels solid on the road (sports suspension, wide tires, no #$!#$ anti-lock brakes). It has enough room for what I do. It suits me.
So if the check engine light comes back on, I'm liable to patiently explain to my mechanic that I appreciate (and value, and trust) his opinion that the car is not "worth" the repair, but have him do it anyway. I'll point out that, the longer I keep it, the more often I'll be bringing it in! I have the money for a new car -- a new car I'd want, anyway, probably something similar to this one -- but I'm rather inclined to keep this one, spend some money on repairs (both these and ones we have to expect in the next few years), and not replace it yet. (I suppose it's worth mentioning that I despise practically everything about the process of buying a new car.)
Anyway, that's my story. If people have other perspectives, or want to ask something about why I think this has worked out well, post away.
Submitted April 12, 2018 at 08:07AM by arghvark https://ift.tt/2qs9R54
